Do you feel stuck where you are, but know that there’s something out there better for you? People keep on saying that you should do what you love doing, but what if you don’t even know what it is? If you are like many women who are still finding it hard to realize what exactly they want to do with their lives, maybe these four questions will help put a name to those passions:
1. "What am I good at?"
Before anything else, it’s important to first assess both your strengths and weaknesses. You’ve probably mastered several of the skills you've accumulated through the years, even if you may think otherwise, and that lack of self confidence may have been brought about by seeing other people who you can think can beat you in the same game.
Instead of backing off before you've even started, try approaching your self-assessment without comparing what you can do to what other people can do. For example: You think you’re a good singer, you’ve had experience in performing, and you even took a few lessons. There will always be someone better than you for sure, but if you manage to zone in on that one specific skill and acknowledge that you really have a knack for it, then you can eventually build it up, and eventually go pro.
2. "What is the one problem that I want to solve?"
During a commencement speech at MIT, Dropbox founder Drew Houston said, “The most successful people are obsessed with solving a problem, something that matters to them.” Every person has something that he or she wants to change or improve on, including you. You’ve probably seen products out in the market or billboard ads along highways and silently told yourself “I can do much better than that,” before brushing it off as irrelevant.
Don’t stop there. You might be on to something. Ask yourself – what is that one, nagging issue that you’ve always wanted to work on? You’ll be surprised with what you can come up with, and how much you can actually do about it.
3. "What do I love doing outside my regular job?"
Many people have raket to make ends meet, but two of the underlying reasons for having side-jobs is the satisfaction it gives and the fuel it supplies one's passion.
Isa* has been with a company for almost 20 years, and it had come to a point that she only punched in because she was used to what she was doing. She found very little happiness in what she did on a daily basis. However, outside work, she would create craft pieces and sell them at bazaars, where they would often fly off the shelves. “I don’t find any satisfaction in my day job, but it pays the bills,” she shared. “I find joy when I sell my products and people talk to me about how I made them.”
Your passion is often the thing that you gravitate to the most. Once you realize that, then you can always find ways to make what you love sustainable.
4. "What do I do that makes me feel happy and complete?"
Instead of asking yourself, “what do I want to do,” try to reflect on the times that you’ve felt really happy, and focus on what you’ve been doing during those specific moments. Were you traveling? Baking? Creating t-shirt designs? At times, thinking about making a career out of them may seem far-fetched, but there's always a crazy way to do it. Do you love surfing? Then maybe you can produce boards, or even offer classes. It’s only a matter of getting more educated, connecting with the right people, and being dedicated to make things work.
*name has been changed
